Cristiano Ronaldo Can Lead Portugal To Euro Glory Again

Age is just a number for Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner continues to be one of the best players in the world despite being 36 years old now.

At the time of writing, the Juventus forward has scored 30 goals in all competitions for his side this season. He is on course for his best-ever tally since joining the Italian club from Real Madrid in 2018.

The Portuguese star will be concentrating on helping his side win the Serie A title over the next few months. They have work to do as they currently trail Inter Milan by 10 points. Once the domestic season is over, Ronaldo will then have his eyes on the European Championship. There seems to be a trend at the moment across a wide range of sports. Players are having an increasing amount of success at an older age. For example, in snooker, Ronnie O’Sullivan won the world championship last year at the age of 44. He has Snooker World Champions 2021 odds of 6.8 to defend his title next month where he is a strong contender again.

Roger Federer continues to be in contention for Grand Slam titles in tennis in what is his third decade at the top of his sport. We also saw 43-year-old Tom Brady earlier this year win his seventh Super Bowl crown when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl 55.

Just like those sports stars, Ronaldo is dedicated to his sport. His fitness is as strong as any young player in the game, while his talent is showing no signs of waving. This means it is likely that we are going to see him at the very top level for a few more years at the very least.

Portugal Like Being The Underdogs

Ronaldo is likely to carry his form into the European Championship where Portugal are an excellent bet at 10.5. His side were the underdogs in 2016 when they defeated France in the final in Paris. Fernando Santos’ team can successfully defend their title this year.

Not only does Portugal go into this tournament as the European champions, but they also won the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019, beating the Netherlands in the final. That was a good way for them to shake off their disappointing performance at the World Cup in 2018. Although Ronaldo is the leading player in the team, Portugal are not a one-man-band. They missed their star player for a large part of the final against France five years ago. Every player in the squad stepped up and played their part in upsetting the home side.

Portugal have been drawn into Group F at Euro 2020 along with France, Germany and Hungary. It’s a tough start for the defending champions, however, if they can get through, it means at least one of the favourites for the tournament will be eliminated.

England, Spain and Belgium are other contenders for the trophy this year. They all have strong squads on paper. As we have seen many times before though, Ronaldo can be the difference-maker in big games.

The final for the tournament is scheduled for the 11th July and hopefully, it is the Portugal captain who lifts the trophy at the end of the final.